Iron Sonata of World War II

But Helena had good reasons for doing so.According to Helena's logic: the Labor Front has given up the right to vote on shares in peacetime, that is to say, it has given up its intervention in the daily business decisions of enterprises.Therefore, the labor front should not bear too much risk brought about by the daily decision-making of the enterprise. The risk of enterprise operation should be mainly borne by those with decision-making power, so that power and responsibility are truly unified.

But if the labor front does not give up the right to vote in peacetime, the bourgeoisie may not be able to accept it.We must know that most of the large companies in Germany have relatively dispersed equity, so in many cases, 10% or less of the shares is enough to control the entire company. If the shares of the Labor Front have voting rights, then more than half of the large companies in Germany will It can be announced that it has been taken over by the trade union organization.So as compensation for giving up voting rights in peacetime, the Labor Front should also be compensated in the area of ​​risk control.

Although there were no voices of opposition at all, these did not hinder the German government's determination to reform, and Hitler, who was gradually full-fledged, was unwilling to completely become an echo of the big bourgeoisie.Moreover, through Helena's series of foreshadowings over the years, the timing of the reform is not a small one but a great one.Therefore, with the encouragement of Helena, Hitler did not make substantive policy compromises under the lobbying of the big bourgeoisie this time.The confidence for the German government reform this time comes not only from domestic favorable factors, but also from a favorable environment abroad.

There are three favorable factors from China.

The first is that most of the Junkers did not stand with the big bourgeoisie this time. Before Helena suggested that the Hitler government carried out a large-scale debt cleansing in Germany.Helena's approach is not only to reset Germany's financial system to zero so that it will be easier to go into battle in the future, but also contains the ulterior motive of disintegrating the alliance between the Junkers and the big bourgeoisie.

Although nominally the debtor and the creditor share the losses, in fact, in the process of debt cleansing, the heavily indebted Junkers were relieved of many debt burdens, while the bourgeoisie, the main creditors of the Junker class, was forced to bear the burden. Many losses.Even if the Junkers only consider their own interests, they will never stand against the government and help the big bourgeoisie at this time.After all, the Junkers and the big bourgeoisie in Germany are just wine and meat friends, and there is no unbreakable class friendship.

Secondly, after the large and small trade union organizations in Germany were integrated into the Labor Front by the Nazi Party, both the overall strength and the degree of internal organization have surpassed any previous period.Although Helena must admit that the Nazi Party's practice of forcibly merging the trade unions originally controlled by the German Republican Party and the Social Democratic Party into the Labor Front was despicable and shameless, but objectively speaking, a more unified workers' organization is conducive to obtaining more benefits in the process of cutting the new cake. favorable position.

Finally, the attitude of the German bourgeoisie towards this reform is not monolithic.In the final analysis, Helena's reform is only about the division of increments rather than the redistribution of stocks.Not only the original interests of the bourgeoisie have not been really damaged, but they can also share some of the newly added dividends in this reform, such as reducing the pressure on workers’ wage expenditures and expanding the scale of capital controlled in peacetime (because the labor front Shares in peacetime have no voting rights), which improves the overall market competitiveness.The reason why some capital groups are still muttering is that they think they can still ask the government to give themselves more of the new cake.

Driven by this mentality, it is impossible even within the bourgeoisie to be united.What's more, if some capital groups resist the reform, while other capital groups that compete with you accept the reform plan.If others increase capital and expand shares before you, and complete the renewal of fixed capital before you, you will fall behind in market competition, and no capitalist can accept this result.In this way, it is even more impossible for the bourgeoisie to cohere due to the internal competition.

There are two main points from the favorable international environment.

First of all, the signing of the "British-German Naval Agreement" has just been completed, which has further strengthened the tendency of division within the Allies, and Germany's international environment has been greatly improved. After all, France alone cannot afford to pull the encirclement net against Germany.Helena believes that now is the period when Germany faces the least external pressure after the end of World War I, and a relatively peaceful external environment is very beneficial for Germany to concentrate on completing internal reform work.

The second is that the capitalist economic crisis is still spreading around the world, and the power of the red Soviet Union in the east is still on the rise, which puts pressure on the bourgeoisie in Germany from two aspects.They were afraid that the economic crisis would sweep back into Germany, causing their profits to decrease or even go bankrupt. They also feared that if the relatively moderate reform demands put forward by the Nazi Party could not be realized, the forces of the German Communist Party, which had been temporarily suppressed, would take the opportunity to re-emerge.

So although most of them welcomed it, and a few were reluctant, but in the end most of the capital groups still approved of Helena's cake-cutting plan.In this cake-cutting plan, the capitalists obtained the market competitiveness brought about by capital increase and share expansion, the workers obtained part of the property income (derived from the value-added part of the shares) in addition to the basic salary, and the country obtained the state of emergency. Replace the market's ability to allocate resources with prescriptive plans.

Chapter 228 Workers' Gathering

Under the careful planning of Robert Ley, national leader of the Labor Front, and Joseph Goebbels, head of the Propaganda Department, the scale of May Day celebrations in Germany in 1935 reached a breathtaking level.In Berlin, which has a total resident population of only about 400 million, more than 100 million people participated in this rally. From the perspective of the Reichsstadion, which has just completed the expansion of the main structure, the neatly lined crowd and the black and red flags almost covered human eyes. All the space within your reach.

During a Labor Day eve mobilization, Labor Front national leader Robert Ley addressed Labor Front members preparing for Labor Day rallies: "I assure you, we not only want you to have everything, but we Workers' rights will be further expanded. So that workers will participate as equals and respected people in this new country!" Robert Ley continued: "I am the son of a farmer myself, so I understand the poor. Suffering, now is the time for us working people to unite and declare war on poverty!"

"Here, I might as well tell all the workers in advance that the head of state is preparing to promulgate a new labor law. In the future, if we work more than eight hours a day, we will get shares in the company as our investment in our own company. In this way, all the capital of the company In the value-added, there will be a share of our workers! You don’t have to worry about the bankruptcy of your company and your hard work overtime will be in vain. If your company is not doing well, the labor front will get the priority right to dispose of the company’s assets. If this cannot compensate for the loss, The insurance money of the Labor Front organization will also help you cover the bottom line, and will never let your investment suffer serious losses.”

"However, there are still a small number of capitalists who don't understand the situation. They just want to extend the working hours of workers but don't want to pay more. They heard that we want to share the benefits of capital appreciation, as if they were robbed. The government has sent away Dozens of lobby groups have been sent by them, but this time the Führer will not succumb to their coercion and temptation!" In his propaganda to the workers, Robert Ley deliberately exaggerated the resistance to government reform in order to show that Hitler wholeheartedly fought for the interests of the workers The "glorious image" of the fans is almost the same as the head of the fan club in the later generations to promote how hard the idols work to the fans.

But the most popular thing in the world is probably the routine. Seeing that the workers' emotions were gradually mobilized, Ley began his final mobilization: "Tomorrow our head of state will review you on the viewing platform of the Imperial Stadium. He The support of each of us is urgently needed; and those stubborn opponents of reform will surely watch you in the dark, please show them our strength. So cheer up tomorrow, let the world feel the German workers Vigorous vitality!"

The Reichsstadion on the west side of Berlin was expanded on the original basis by Germany in order to welcome the 1936 Olympic Games. Although it is an expansion in name, the actual construction volume is almost the same as that of a new construction.The expansion of this plane began in 1933, and it took only two years to complete the construction of the main venue that can accommodate more than 10 spectators. Central place for festival celebrations.

After the event started, Hitler personally delivered a speech. In the speech, Mustache first enthusiastically praised the great contribution of the laborers to the country, and then began to announce the current round of reform measures aimed at increasing the property income of the workers.At this time, Hitler spoke very slowly, but every measure was very simple and understandable by him.In fact, just for this short speech, Hitler invited Helena to the Fuhrer's Palace several times to discuss it word by word with him. Understand the key content of the reform and its benefits.

Although Hitler hardly read the speeches deliberately when he gave a speech, Hitler did not actually rely on impromptu speeches to achieve great success as in the legend.In fact, before every important speech event, Hitler would repeatedly consider the wording of the speech, speech speed, stress, pauses, body movements, and even eye contact with the audience.He even made audio and video recordings of these rehearsals so he could watch them and correct any flaws.

After stating the measures of this reform, Hitler's speech speed on the podium gradually accelerated, and the volume of his voice also increased.In more and more physical movements, Hitler began to repeat the clichés that he had said a hundred times, including criticizing the Weimar government's external weakness and incompetence in the face of unemployment, and promising to use economic recovery Job opportunities for every worker, and the prospect of uniting for the great rejuvenation of the country and nation.

These viewpoints of Hitler are not very novel in themselves, but what he said are precisely the strongest desires in the hearts of most audiences. And extremely personalized body language, it has achieved an extremely strong emotional rendering effect.So when Hitler's speech ended, the millions of people present cheered like ocean waves, and Hitler's vanity was greatly satisfied by the countless raised arms, and even the mustache under his nose was full of excitement. It trembled unconsciously.

What followed was a large-scale parade held by worker representatives from all over the world. The front and the most eye-catching was the shovel team composed of road construction workers. The shiny surface of the shovel gave off an overall reflection under the sun, which attracted applause from the crowd of onlookers, and all the top leaders of the government sitting in the stands, including Hitler, also stood up and applauded for them.

After the neat and solemn parade in the morning, the following activities were relatively relaxing and enjoyable.For example, the noon event is the so-called "Big Pot Meal Day", which specifically allows corporate workers and capitalists, high-ranking government officials and lower-level employees, Junker nobles and ordinary farmers to get together to eat the same meal, as a symbol of a national community regardless of class.Helena also gladly accepted the invitation of the "Big Pot Rice" event and had a great time. After all, this experience was quite novel to her.

After lunch, the Labor Front also held various group activities.Including music performances, singing competitions, workers' painting exhibitions, etc., the Air Force's flight team also presented aerobatic performances over Berlin, and at night they set off fireworks throughout the city of Berlin.The whole event was extremely successful, and Goebbels, head of the Propaganda Department, said excitedly: "It's really breathtaking, and the spectacle exceeded expectations!" The leader of the Labor Front, Robert Ley, declared triumphantly after the event: "We in Germany were the first country in Europe to overcome the class struggle."

Chapter 229 Armor Compilation

"We decided to establish the three armored divisions last year, and the shortage of equipment is still very serious until now!" Facing the mustache who came to inspect the progress of the formation of the armored divisions, General Lutz, the commander of the armored forces of the National Defense Forces, after a brief meeting and greetings, said: He began to pour bitter water on Hitler endlessly.The commander of the [-]st Armored Division, Maximilian von Weicks, the commander of the [-]nd Armored Division, Heinz Guderian, and the commander of the [-]rd Armored Division, Ernst Fessmann, followed him with approval.

"According to the army building plan we formulated last year, each newly-built armored division should be equipped with an armored regiment, and each armored regiment should be equipped with 1 tanks. In the year and a half since the delivery of the Panzer B), the Wehrmacht has only received 296 tanks in total. Excluding the 730 teaching vehicles for the Armored Forces Academy, the Armored Division has actually only received 22 tanks.” Admiral Lutz is very happy Reluctantly spread his palms and said.

"Our armored division now has no choice but to make things simple for the time being, reducing the strength of each tank company from four platoons with a total of 22 tanks to three platoons with a total of 17 tanks, reducing the number of tanks in each armored regiment from 296 to 236 vehicles, but this is the only way to ensure that each armored division can obtain an armored regiment.” Admiral Lutz sighed and said: “I have already asked Henschel and Mann, which are responsible for the production of ferret tanks. The remaining 8 tanks will not be delivered until the end of August, so our plan to form a new armored division will have to be postponed until next year."

按照本位面古德里安和鲁茨制定的德国最新的装甲师编制计划，装甲师的所有坦克都集中配属在师属装甲团中。在师属装甲团中，每个装甲排都由5辆坦克组成。每个装甲连由4个这样的装甲排和连部的2辆坦克组成，所以每个装甲连应该拥有22辆坦克；每个装甲营由4个这样的装甲连和营部的8辆坦克组成，所以每个装甲营应该拥有96辆坦克；每个装甲团由3个这样的装甲营和团部的8辆坦克组成，所以每个装甲团应该拥有296辆坦克。

In addition to this armored regiment, each armored division should also be equipped with two mechanized infantry regiments and one mechanized artillery regiment. Just motorized infantry and motorized artillery.In addition, the armored division should also have auxiliary units responsible for anti-armor detection, communication engineering, logistics and transportation, and medical and health care.However, since even the most core armored regiment of the whole division is currently in a state of shortage, the technical equipment of other units is generally in a state of shortage.

In fact, according to Guderian's original vision, each armored division should have 1 armored brigade and 1 infantry brigade, where each armored brigade has two armored regiments, and each armored regiment has two armored regiments consisting of 96 tanks. armored battalion.After adding the tanks belonging to the regimental and brigade headquarters, each armored division will have as many as 408 tanks.

However, Helena felt that the father of the German armored forces might have taken it for granted this time. Due to the pressure of logistics support and the reasonable ratio of other arms, the number of tanks in the armored division is not as good as possible.In World War II on the last plane, after several years of war, the number of tanks in the armored divisions of various countries mostly fell to the level of 200 to 300.For example, in 1943, the German standard armored division had 196 tanks and tank destroyers, the American standard armored division had 268 tanks and tank destroyers, and the Soviet standard tank army (parallel to the Western armored divisions) had tanks 215 vehicles.

The number of tanks in the German Armored Division on the last plane was no more than 340 (the number of tanks in the 340rd Armored Division at the beginning of the French campaign), and 245 of the 20 tanks were beans like the No. [-] and No. [-] Ding chariot.Although the purchase price of the ferret tank in this plane is very affordable compared to its performance, it is much more expensive than the No. [-] tank equipped with only machine guns and the No. [-] tank equipped with only [-]mm machine guns in the previous plane.If the armored division is built according to the establishment envisaged by Guderian, the cost will reach an unacceptable level, and the low ratio of infantry and artillery will also cause top-heavy problems.

Out of the need to save procurement funds, as well as to reduce the command hierarchy and optimize the structure of the arms, General Lutz finally, under Helena's persuasion, decided to cancel the establishment of armored brigades and infantry brigades between divisions and regiments. The number of armored battalions under the first armored regiment increased from two to three, forming the current establishment of 296 tanks per armored division.

As a corresponding measure, compared with Guderian's original vision, the finalized plan for the formation of armored divisions has moderately increased the size of infantry and artillery.For example, according to Guderian's original vision, the infantry force in the armored division is only an infantry brigade composed of 1 motorcycle battalion and 1 motorized infantry regiment, but Lutz's new plan has become two armored divisions. A full regiment of infantry.Another example is that the artillery regiment in the new plan has changed from the original two-battalion system to the three-battalion system.

Moderately reducing the number of tanks in the armored division and increasing the strength of infantry and artillery are actually adjustments made by Germany on the previous plane to the original top-heavy infantry division organization based on the experience of the Polish and French campaigns.These adjustments marked the development of the German armored division in the last plane from childishness to maturity, and laid the foundation for the later Barbarossa plan and the amazing results of the initial stage of the North African battlefield.After the adjustment, although the number of tanks in the armored division has shrunk, the deployment of troops is more reasonable, the command system is more efficient, and the mission flexibility is greatly improved.

However, this was also the last glory of the German armored division in the last plane. Since then, with the defeat on all fronts, the number of technical weapons of the German army has become more and more stretched.In order to make the German armored forces stronger on paper, Mustache always likes to use the newly produced equipment to build new armored divisions instead of replenishing the losses of old ones in time. As a result, the numbers of German armored divisions continue to expand and become real. The combat power keeps shrinking.

At the end of the war, many troops in Germany with the title of armored division actually had only one incomplete armored battalion in their hands, and there were only fifty or sixty tanks in their hands. In fact, they had been reduced to ordinary armored infantry divisions.If it is said that Germany's moderate reduction of the number of tanks in the armored division after the French campaign was a benign structural adjustment, then at the end of World War II, Germany's water injection to the armored division to increase the number of armored divisions on paper was continuous hyperinflation.

……

"Our tank output is climbing too slowly, Miss Helena." Hitler, who was vomited bitter water by Admiral Lutz, turned his head and vomited the bitter water to Helena: "Henschel and Mann Co. Up to now, only 70 ferret tanks can be produced every month. It will take nearly two years for them to produce the tanks of three armored divisions! If this continues, when will our No. [-] tank be put into production? "Domestic military industry The company's "Buddhism" in weapon production obviously did not satisfy Mustache, so he habitually asked Helena for help.

"Our country's military industry has just begun to recover. It will take time for large companies to rebuild their military production capacity, Your Excellency." Helena said indifferently: "Besides, the production speed in peacetime is actually not too slow. The reason why companies don't The willingness to greatly expand production capacity is largely due to the fact that the number of orders from the military is too small to dilute the cost of greatly expanding the production line. Therefore, our enterprises generally adopt the mode of workstation operation to produce tanks. Building a modern assembly line with high costs is not a wise choice."

2 chapters production model

"Now our armored divisions are largely experimental, and there are a lot of new topics to be explored at both the tactical and organizational levels. The weapons and equipment provided to the army by our military industry system also have a relatively strong Explore the colors, although the first-generation works like the No. [-] ferret tank are well received by the troops, there is actually no need to equip too much.”

"Because when the formation of the fourth armored division is completed next year, the test work of the No. [-] Fox tank is estimated to be almost completed. Although the production of the Ferret tank chassis will not be stopped immediately, it may be used more for the production of self-propelled tanks. Artillery and engineering vehicles are used instead of tanks. In this way, the final production of Ferret tanks is estimated to remain at the level of more than a thousand vehicles, and there is no need for us to urge Henschel and Mann to increase production capacity.”

"At this time, our most urgent task is not to build a large number of new armored divisions. Instead, we should seize the time to improve the exploration of existing armored divisions, whether it is at the level of tactical organization or at the level of equipment use. Exploration. In this way, when our armored offensive and defensive tactics are mature, the newly-built armored divisions can directly have a complete organizational structure, advanced tactics and tactics, and reliable weapons and equipment." Helena continued.

"However, the generals' complaints about the insufficient production capacity of new tanks this time also exposed the current tank production model we adopt, and there are indeed shackles in expanding the production scale." Helena suddenly changed the subject: "Now we are manufacturing tanks. The production mode generally adopted in the production process is to decompose the production process of the entire tank into several larger production stages, and then set up a corresponding workstation for each production stage, and all the processes in the production stage are in this workstation. Finish."

"After the semi-finished vehicle completes all the assembly work of this stage in the previous workstation, it is then transferred to the next workstation through the trolley or girder truck for the next stage of assembly. Therefore, the production of the chariot is advanced in stages in this way. Until all production work is completed in the last workstation.” In order to let Hitler have a basic understanding of the production process of tanks, Helena had to introduce him to the production mode currently used in Germany.

"The chariot assembly mode we are using now is actually not suitable for mass production. A production mode such as a workstation may be more suitable for the production of a small number of industrial products, which are carefully crafted by experienced workers." Helena thought for a while and said.In her memory, the assembly mode of later generations of workstations is mainly used to produce industrial products such as aerospace vehicles, top luxury cars, and professional engineering equipment that have a small output but high individual value.

"If our demand for tanks is not hundreds or thousands, but thousands or even tens of thousands, then it may be a more appropriate choice to establish a complete assembly line including the final assembly line and the secondary assembly line. However The cost of building such a production line is not low and it takes a long time, and the current purchase quantity of the military cannot share these costs, which is the fundamental reason why manufacturers are hesitant to expand production capacity."

In fact, in Helena's opinion, the workstation model is still very suitable for Germany's current production demand for tanks. After all, Germany's current annual order for new tanks is only a few hundred.Moreover, the technical status of several new equipment currently being produced is not completely stable. In response to various improvement suggestions put forward by the troops after actual use, manufacturers need to regularly adjust and improve various technical details of the products.Compared with the assembly line that must be produced continuously, using the relatively flexible assembly mode of the workstation can make it easier to adjust the design of the product at any time.

However, after the outbreak of World War II in the last plane, it is unreasonable for Germany to still mainly use the workstation model to produce tanks.It’s not that the Germans don’t know the advantages of the assembly line model in terms of production efficiency. In fact, Germany has long popularized the assembly line in the field of automobile production. However, when the World War broke out in 1939, German tank manufacturers were not ready to expand production scale. , and the new production line was too late in time, so we had to continue to use the workstation mode to produce tanks.

The only tank factory in Germany that used assembly line operations during World War II was the newly built Nibelungen Arsenal in St. Valentine, Austria after the merger of Germany and Austria.This new factory started in 1938 was the most advanced tank production line in the world at that time. It not only had a tank assembly line, but also had secondary and tertiary assembly lines responsible for the distribution and production of tanks.

Although the Nibelungen Arsenal, which was put into production at the end of 1941, was the tank factory that was put into production in Germany later in World War II, its production efficiency is extremely amazing. Among the 8800 Panzer IV tanks that were the backbone of German tanks in World War II, 4786 The first tank came from the Nibelungen Arsenal, accounting for 54.4% of the total production of the No. 48 tanks, and most of the production at the Nibelungen Arsenal is the late-stage No. 75 tank equipped with a 4mm gun with a [-]-fold long barrel.During the peak period of production, the assembly line of the Nibelungen Arsenal can assemble the suspension system of a Panzer IV in only [-] minutes.

In 1944, when the Allied bombing was the most violent, of the 3366 Panzer IV tanks produced in Germany, 2809 came from the Nibelungen Arsenal, accounting for 83.5% of the total Panzer IV tank production that year!The familiar Krupp and Vomag companies only produced 1944 Panzer IV tanks in 557, and the gap in efficiency can be seen.Moreover, the Nibelungen Arsenal is not only producing the No. 70 tank, it is also responsible for the production of the Ferdinand and the Tiger tank destroyer. If it were not for the waste of a lot of production capacity by these two large toys of more than [-] tons, the Nibelung In fact, the production efficiency of the root arsenal still has the potential to be further improved.

Then someone will ask, since the assembly line has such a big advantage in assembly efficiency compared with the production method of the workstation.Why didn't Germany build more assembly lines?The answer is that there is too little time. Building such an advanced tank assembly line is not only expensive, but also takes a lot of time.The Nibelungen arsenal on the last plane started construction in August 1938 and was not officially put into operation until November 8, which took three years and three months.

After Germany found out that its tanks were not enough, there was no time to build new assembly lines. All major military enterprises except Nibelungen had to continue to produce tanks in the workstation mode.Generally speaking, the German tank industry system was completely unprepared for the full-scale outbreak of war in 1939. When the problem was discovered, it was too late to switch production modes.Therefore, it is not unreasonable for military fans in later generations to laugh at Germany for producing tanks in the model of producing limited edition luxury cars.Well, many super heavy tanks in Germany are indeed "limited editions".

"Manufacturing hundreds of tanks is a completely different concept from manufacturing thousands or even tens of thousands of tanks. To greatly increase the production capacity of tanks, it is very inefficient to rely solely on expanding the scale under the existing model. When the production volume of tanks After reaching a certain critical point, the production mode must be switched." Helena said: "So if we only focus on the immediate needs, then I think the current production mode is sufficient; but if we rebuild the military industry , is to deal with the large-scale wars that may occur in the future, so the current production model is far from enough."

"In Miss Helena's opinion, how can we solve this problem." Hitler asked thoughtfully.

"Now the government may need to take the lead and let domestic tank manufacturers cooperate to establish a batch of high-standard tank production lines. The reform measures just promulgated just relieved the financial pressure on companies. We can let them renew fixed capital funds It is not too late to concentrate and invest in this field." Helena replied.

Chapter 231 The Coordination Disconnect

Although Helena suggested building several high-level tank production lines, it does not mean that she is ready to completely abandon the workstation production model.Although the assembly line mode has undoubted advantages in production efficiency, it also has higher requirements for the stable supply of materials and electricity.And once the key nodes on the production line are damaged, the operation of the entire assembly line may be forced to be interrupted.How to ensure that production does not get stuck under the opponent's air raid is a very big challenge for the assembly line.

Compared with the assembly line mode, the workstation mode does not have such high requirements for the continuity of production, and the production of each stage can be adjusted more flexibly, which is beneficial to improve the resistance to the interference of strategic bombing on production.Moreover, not every type of equipment needs to be produced in the tens of thousands like the main tanks. The production of special vehicles with a small demand, as well as the manufacture of the prototype stage and trial assembly stage of new tanks, can all be completed in the workstation mode .Therefore, Helena believes that in the future production of tanks in Germany, the workstation mode and the assembly line mode will be complementary rather than mutually replacing.

After listening to Helena's suggestion, Hitler's government finally decided to start from the second half of 1935 to build a new tank assembly plant in Bavaria, which has a good foundation in the automobile and machinery industry.The production base with the tank assembly line and parts assembly line will be opened up in the forest near Munich, together with the supporting railway line, test site and workers' dormitory. The whole project is expected to be completed in 1938 and will be in Have initial production capacity before the end of the year.The planned production capacity of the factory is that it can produce 250 tanks per month in the initial stage of construction, and it can reach a level of more than 450 tanks per month after expansion.

The German government originally planned to give this new factory the construction code name "Toy Factory". In the last plane, they also called the Nibelungen Arsenal under construction in this way.But in the end, at the suggestion of Helena, they changed the construction code name of this production base to "Agricultural Machinery Factory". After all, if you build a toy factory and lay a special railway line, a fool can see that something is wrong The place.Moreover, Helena also has special affection for the name "Agricultural Machinery Factory". After all, she worked as a technician in the Agricultural Machinery Factory in the last plane.

In addition to building a brand-new tank production base in Bavaria, at Helena's suggestion, the German government also equipped and guided qualified domestic enterprises to carry out technical transformation of the original production line through purchase commitments and other means, and even put some production lines in workstation mode. Transformed into a production line in assembly line mode.Although this relatively short-term project cannot be compared with a brand-new factory that focuses on mass production from the beginning of planning, it can also achieve a significant increase in production capacity at a relatively low transformation cost.

With the government's commitment to the future quantity of arms purchases, the enthusiasm of enterprises to transform the production line is obviously much higher.In addition, the company has just obtained capital increase and share expansion from the Labor Front, and the funds available for fixed capital renewal are still relatively abundant. Therefore, many companies involved in military industrial production have expressed their intention to expand and transform their original production lines.For example, Alcatel, which was responsible for the production of the No. [-] assault gun in the previous plane, decided to vigorously expand its own vehicle factory near Berlin.

The expansion of military production capacity will take at least two years to see obvious results, so Helena estimates that next year's tank production will not increase significantly.However, after the establishment of three armored divisions, Germany has temporarily slowed down the pace of establishing a new armored division, and the next armored division will not start until at least next year.Therefore, the problem of insufficient tanks that Admiral Lutz complained about is expected to be significantly alleviated within a few months.

In fact, the formation of armored divisions in Germany on the last plane is similar. Since the establishment of three armored divisions in 1935, no new armored divisions have been established in Germany in the following two years, and the establishment of the fourth armored division was already established on November 1938. In comparison, the construction speed of armored soldiers on this plane is not too slow.After all, the organization and use of armored divisions is a brand new military topic, and it is full of too many unknown things for the pioneers. Germany needs to explore a clear path before moving forward.Therefore, the slowdown in the formation of new armored divisions does not mean that Germany has stopped building armored divisions.

In Helena's view, although Germany now has three armored divisions in name, and all the missing tanks can be in place within a few months, even if the armored regiments in the armored divisions are full of 296 tanks, These new armored divisions are still not really mechanized units.According to the current establishment of Germany, a complete armored division is composed of three pillars: armored regiment, infantry regiment, and artillery regiment, plus functional units such as reconnaissance battalion, communication battalion, engineering battalion, air defense battalion, and anti-tank battalion.But now, units other than armored regiments are basically only motorized, not mechanized.

In other words, the infantry and artillery in the German armored divisions are just motorized infantry and motorized artillery, not the ideal mechanized infantry and self-propelled artillery in the armored divisions.To be more specific, the infantry in the armored divisions still maneuver by vehicles and get out of the vehicles to fight near the battlefield; while the artillery also relies on vehicles to maneuver, and then builds artillery positions by manpower after arriving near the position.This is of course much more high-end than the brothers in the ordinary infantry division who measure the land with their legs and pull the artillery with mules and horses, but it still cannot seamlessly cooperate with the tanks of the armored regiment.

For example, in several armored force exercises organized this year, generals including Lutz and Guderian discovered that the infantry and artillery were always out of touch with the armored forces.For example, infantry cannot keep up with a high-speed tank with their legs. If the infantry enters the battlefield directly on the tank, the problem of speed will be solved. Flying shrapnel.

When soldiers fight with tanks on foot, they can also avoid stray bullets and artillery fire through tactical actions such as lying down. If they sit on a tank, they can only rely on the power of faith and pray to God that they are lucky enough.Although there are generally no real deaths unless a safety accident occurs during the exercise, the high casualty rate judged by the infantry during the exercise is still unacceptable.

Similar problems exist in artillery. Although towed artillery can rely on motorized power to quickly reach the designated position, building artillery positions and pushing the artillery into the position and deploying it all requires manpower. Hitch to the tow vehicle.This cumbersome process takes a lot of time, and the advancing speed of the armored soldiers is too fast, and it is still difficult for the motorized artillery to adapt to the rapid changes in the front.

In short, after the armored division has tanks with excellent performance at the same time, the difficulty of coordination between infantry and artillery and tanks has become a shortcoming that must be made up.Improving the mechanization level of infantry and artillery has become an inevitable requirement for the equipment construction of German armored divisions. However, after greatly reducing the investment in the technical route of half-track vehicles, how to make up for the gap of tens of thousands of mechanized vehicles? For Helena, it was really a tricky question.

Chapter 232 The Death of Half-shoes

When it comes to the mechanized troops of Germany in World War II on the last plane, the most impressive vehicles besides tanks are all kinds of half-track vehicles.At that time, Guderian emphasized in many of his writings: In order to give full play to the combat potential of tanks, armored divisions should be equipped with a tank that is lighter and cheaper than tanks, but has similar driving speed and off-road capabilities as tanks, and the equipment can resist An armored chariot with light weapons, the chariot envisioned by Guderian is a half-track vehicle.

During World War II on the last plane, Germany produced as many as tens of thousands of different models of half-track vehicles, the largest of which was the Sd.Kfz.1.6 half-track vehicle family with an output of up to 251.This light armored combat vehicle with a total combat weight of 8 tons can carry 10 heavily armed infantry in addition to the two crew members, the commander and the driver.In the film and television works of later generations, the Sd.Kfz.251 half-track vehicle has almost become the iconic mount of the German mechanized infantry.

Although Germany's application of half-track vehicles in World War II on the previous plane was generally successful, Helena does not plan to use the half-track vehicle as the main vehicle for future German mechanized infantry.This is because from the experience of using German half-track vehicles in the last plane, the hybrid running gear of this vehicle does have some difficult-to-solve defects.

The original intention of Germany to develop half-track vehicles in the previous plane was that tracked vehicles must be equipped with complex steering mechanisms to give different speeds to the tracks on both sides when turning, which increases man-hours and is not conducive to cost control.At that time, due to the lack of independent suspension and other technologies, the off-road capability of wheeled vehicles was far from meeting the requirements of accompanying mechanized troops in combat.

According to the original idea of ​​the German designer, the front wheels of the half-track vehicle do not need to be connected to power, but only need to be responsible for providing steering force when turning; while the rear track does not need to be connected to the steering mechanism, and only needs to be responsible for providing driving force when driving. just force.In this way, the complex steering mechanism of the traditional tracked vehicle is replaced with a simple steering wheel, which not only saves the production cost but also ensures the off-road performance, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

However, the ideal is full, but the reality is very skinny.German engineers soon discovered that if only relying on the front wheels to control the turning of the half-track vehicle, there would be problems such as too large turning radius of the vehicle and insufficient control force on muddy roads, which made it impossible for the half-track vehicle to actually reach and turn. All-track vehicles have similar off-road capabilities.

In order to solve this annoying problem, our lovely German designer came up with a seemingly very "smart" solution: wouldn't it be settled by adding back the track steering mechanism that was previously omitted?So all half-track vehicles in Germany on the previous plane were equipped with two sets of steering systems!A steering system is similar to a wheeled vehicle, relying on the deflection of the front wheels to control the steering. This system is mainly used for large-radius turns on hard roads; the other steering system is similar to a tracked vehicle, relying on the speed of the tracks on both sides Poor to control the steering, this system is mainly used in small radius turns and on muddy roads.

When the driver of a German halftrack turns the steering wheel, the front wheel steering mechanism will start to work first, and the vehicle's front wheels will deflect while the speed of the track remains unchanged.As the angle of the driver's steering wheel increases and reaches a certain critical value, the crawler steering mechanism will start to work and apply braking force to the inner track. Since there is a differential mechanism between the two sides of the track, braking the inner track will allow The difference in speed between the two tracks provides additional steering force for the halftrack.

If the driver fully turns the steering wheel, the inner track of the half-track vehicle will be completely locked. At this time, the turning radius reaches the minimum value of 6.75 meters. This kind of steering ability can already be compared with many full-track vehicles.However, it is not surprising that German half-track vehicles have this ability. In fact, the principle of the "Coletrak" steering gear used in the track part of the German half-track vehicle and the differential steering gear on the American "Sherman" tank is the basic principle. identical.

Although the combination of these two sets of steering mechanisms seems to be perfect, the half-track vehicle has the steering and off-road capabilities close to that of a full-track vehicle.And because of the complete track steering mechanism, even if the front steering wheel is damaged, the half-track vehicle can still drive and turn normally. These are also the "advantages" that many military fans in the previous plane talked about.

But Helena felt that the German designers and some military fans of later generations seemed to have forgotten a fact: the original intention of developing the half-track vehicle was to replace the complicated track steering mechanism with a relatively simple wheel steering mechanism, so as to save purchases Cost and production man-hour savings goals.So did the work of the German designer achieve this original design goal?The answer is that not only did not achieve the original design goal, but it ran counter to the original design goal.

Because the German guy added back the steering mechanism of the tracked vehicle, this so-called "half-tracked vehicle" is equivalent to adding a set of front-mounted vehicles on the basis of a complete full-tracked vehicle. wheel steering system.Not only did it fail to achieve the goal of simplifying the running gear, but it made the running gear of the entire vehicle more complicated than those full-tracked vehicles.

Helena even felt that compared with this brain hole that penetrated the sky, the use of slots such as staggered load wheels on a half-track vehicle weighing less than 10 tons seemed insignificant.However, in the design process of the half-track vehicle in the last plane, the German designer seriously deviated from the original design goal, which reflected the dilemma in the design of the half-track vehicle from the side.

If the combination of tire steering and track propulsion is simply adopted, compared with the full-track vehicle, the off-road and steering capabilities of the half-track vehicle will not be small. Tracked vehicles do not have many advantages (for example, the speed of the Sd.Kfz.250 half-track vehicle is not as good as the "Lynx" scout tank with a slightly lower power-to-weight ratio in history); Heavy costs such as increased cost, reduced road speed, and increased fuel consumption per unit trip can only be exchanged for limited improvements in off-road performance.

And if you want to improve this defect of the half-track vehicle, you will almost inevitably pay the price of increased complexity, but the structure is simpler than ordinary tracked vehicles, which is precisely the biggest selling point of the half-track vehicle.Without this biggest selling point, the half-track vehicle also loses its existence value to a large extent.Just like the half-track vehicle with two sets of steering mechanisms in Germany in the last plane, it seems to perfectly solve the defect of insufficient steering ability of the half-track vehicle off-road, but in fact it also loses the original advantages of the half-track vehicle .

In short, for the half-track vehicle, if it wants to maintain its simple structure compared with the full-track vehicle, it means accepting its insurmountable defects; Not many advantages are also given up.It is precisely because of the inherent contradictions that are difficult to bridge, after the end of World War II on the last plane, with the rise of all-wheel drive vehicles equipped with new independent suspension systems, the once glorious half-track vehicles quickly withdrew from the equipment sequence of the armies of various countries. It has become a symbol of military history for the permanent aftertaste of military fans in later generations.

Chapter 233 Driving Backwards

Ever since Helena personally buried the technical route of half-track vehicles, there have been a lot of niche vacuums in the field of future German army vehicles. However, in recent years, Helena has been working hard to fill these niche gaps, and has achieved A lot of gratifying progress has been made.For example, the RS-1 and RS-2 crawler tractors/transporters, which are currently in military service, have largely replaced the role of half-track vehicles in transportation and logistics.

Although Borgward's RS-1 crawler tractor/transporter was once dubbed "Parkinson's patient" by the soldiers because the three-cylinder diesel engine with a power of 150 horsepower was too vibrated when it was working, but after the improved engine After the suspension system and the addition of a balance shaft to reduce vibration, this little guy with a weight of only 8.4 tons has been praised by the logistics officers and soldiers of the armored division because of its low price, high reliability, easy maintenance, and strong loading capacity. .

如果说本位面的RS-1是顶替了上个位面中Sd.Kfz.4/6/7等中型半履带牵引车的地位，那么宝沃公司再接再厉研制出来的RS-2型履带式牵引/运输车所接手的，就是上个位面Sd.Kfz.8/9这些重型半履带牵引车的地位了。由于海伦娜知道上个位面的德军中，即使牵引力最强的Sd.Kfz.9型18吨级半履带车，后期在牵引部分重型装备时也有些力不从心，所以她要求RS-2必须拥有比上个位面中装备250马力的迈巴赫汽油机的Sd.Kfz.9更大强的牵引和装载能力。

This heavy-duty crawler tractor/transporter with a dead weight of 16.3 tons has a larger and stronger frame than the RS-1. On the premise of ensuring the basic versatility of the transmission system, it has replaced the same power as the No. 360 tank. A V-shaped 6-cylinder diesel engine with up to 1 horsepower, and increased the number of road wheels per side from five pairs of RS-2 to six pairs.These measures make the RS-1 more than double the loading and towing capacity of the RS-1 while maintaining the same top road speed as the RS-[-], making it a veritable giant in the military.

However, the two models RS-1 and RS-2 alone are not enough to cover the German army's demand for tracked vehicles other than tanks.Although the plasticity of these two chassis is very strong, for example, in addition to the basic model equipped with a cargo bucket, as long as a crane and winch are installed at the rear, it can be transformed into a repair vehicle, as long as a bulldozing blade or roller is installed at the front It can transform into a construction vehicle, etc.However, most of these are logistics support vehicles that do not directly participate in front-line battles. If RS-1 and RS-2 are to be converted into mechanized infantry and artillery combat vehicles, they will face many problems due to basic design problems.

This is because for the sake of maximizing the simplification of the production process, both crawler-type tractors/transporters adopt a non-load-bearing body structure, and two thick longitudinal side beams formed by stamping are simply Riveting together constitutes the load-bearing skeleton of RS-1 and RS-2 in the shape of a single ladder.The vehicle's engine, transmission system and suspension system are all directly installed on this skeleton, and the body that is not a load-bearing structure is also covered on the frame like building blocks.From this point of view, the structure of RS-1 and RS-2 is more like a truck that walks on crawlers rather than a tank whose body itself is a load-bearing structure.

Although this kind of car body structure is strong and easy to produce, it is very suitable as the chassis of an auxiliary vehicle, but it has a fatal disadvantage when it is used as a combat vehicle, that is, its car floor can only be installed on the top of the frame. Infantry is still a vehicle for self-propelled artillery, and the height of this base plate is too high.This will not only increase the probability of the tank being hit by the enemy, but also increase the area that the tank needs to protect.If such a chassis is used as a mechanized infantry vehicle, the excessively high floor of the carriage will cause inconvenience for soldiers to get on and off the vehicle; if such a chassis is used as a self-propelled artillery vehicle, the excessively high floor of the carriage will also make it difficult for the artillery to ensure the elevation angle. Instead, it was forced to raise the line of fire, which would jeopardize the stability of the firing platform.

Since the existing tracked chassis were not suitable as vehicles for mechanized infantry and self-propelled artillery, shortly after the completion of the development of the No. Chassis research work, and produced a prototype in just a few months.

However, such a fast research speed is not because the designers are working overtime, but because this so-called new universal chassis is not really newly developed. It is actually based on the Ferret B tank chassis that has already been in service. The product of the reset of the internal structure.Let's take a look at how Helena directed the engineers to undergo major surgery on the Ferret B tank, turning the tank into a standard armored vehicle or even a self-propelled gun:

The engineer asked: It is a good idea to convert the ferret tank into an armored vehicle or a self-propelled artillery, but what if the tank does not have enough space for the infantry compartment or the artillery battle room?